Brick cleaning apparatus



May 5, 1959 R. DRAKE- BRICK CLEANING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledMay 14, 1957 i [IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE AwwN\NN i" 3 N L.A

INVENTOR -l @5517 bu flfiA/(E ATT NEYS United States Patent BRICKCLEANING APPARATUS Robert Lyle Drake, San Leandro, Calif.

Application May 14, 1957, Serial No. 659,133

6 Claims. (Cl. 125-26) This invention relates to apparatus for removingmortar, cement and like foreign substances from bricks.

In the taking down and destruction of old buildings, there is frequentlyprovided large quantities of bricks which initially formed a portion ofthe structure being demolished. According to present practices, suchbricks are usually carefully cleaned by hand for resale. Used bricks areconsidered superior in appearance to new bricks, and even though thecost thereof may exceed that of new bricks, there is a consistent demandfor the cleaned used bricks. Heretofore, it has been the practice tohand clean these bricks by means of a manually engageable hammer or thelike so as to remove the mortar or other bonding material by means ofwhich the bricks were adhe'red to each other. Obviously, this is a timeconsuming and consequently costly procedure, and in order to clean thelarge number of bricks which may be broken down from a wall or likestructures necessitates the use of a large crew of workmen.

Numerous attempts have been heretofore made to pro- 'duce a machinewhich would expedite the cleaning of the bricks, but to date, suchmachines have been both 'costly and ineflicient and still unable tosatisfactorily clean bricks so that the faces thereof are squared, nor

'do such machines have the ability to clean the bricks at a sutficientlyhigh and economical rate.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide mechanicalapparatus which will thoroughly and effectively clean large volumes ofused bricks in a mini mum period of time.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus of the characterdescribed, including means for bringing automatic in operation and whichonly requires the uncleaned bricks to be deposited on a conveyor or thelike for subsequent delivery to and through the mechanism.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide apparatus ashereinabove explained which incorporates a novel set of blades orscrapers for removing the mortar and the like from the bricks andincluding means for compensating for slight irregularties in therespective bricks, and in which the blade mechanism may be readilyadjusted and/ or easily removed from or installed in the apparatus.

The invention possesses other objects and features of.

advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in thefollowing description of the preferred form of the invention which isillustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming part of thespecification. It

; to be understood, however, that variations theshow- 'ice ing made bythe said drawings and description may be adopted within the scope of theinvention as set forth in 'wrecked onto the turntable.

for subsequent delivery to the machine.

the claims.

Referring to said drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the brick cleaning apparatus of thepresent invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational View of the apparatus disclosed in Figure1.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken substantially inthe plane indicated by the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken substantially in theplane indicated by line 44 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is another transverse cross-sectional view taken substantiallyin the plane indicated by line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a transeverse cross-sectional view of the blade assembly,with the plane of the view being indicated by the line 66 of Figure 3.

Figure 7 is a plane cross-sectional view taken substantially in theplane indicated by line 77 of Figure 3.

In broad terms, the apparatus of the present invention includes meansfor receiving large quantities of the bricks to be cleaned, means fordelivering such bricks to the mortar removing mechanism, means formoving the bricks through the cleaning or mortar removing mechanism, andmeans for receiving the cleaned bricks upon emergence from the machine.More specifically, but still considering the overall operation of theapparatus, it will be noted, particularly as shown in Figure l of thedrawings, that the used bricks to be cleaned are initially deposited ona revolving table 12. Any suitable means may be incorporated forinitially placing the bricks on such table, and in many installations itis possible to run a chute or hopper directly from the building beingSince the turntable has an extensive area, a large quantity of suchbricks may be indiscriminately positioned on the upper surface thereofFrom the tumtable 12, the bricks are placed on a conveyor, generallyindicated by the numeral 13, such conveyor being of substantially thesame height as that of the table whereby an operator may manually movethe bricks from the slow- 1y rotating turntable to the conveyor. As thebricks move along the conveyor they ultimately reach a position where-'in a single brick is aligned with a ram or plunger 14,

whose travel is substantially normal to that of the conveyor. It shouldbe explained that the bricks, as they are to be engaged by the plunger,are normally arranged 'with their greatest length extending across thewidth 'indicated at 16, which will effectively scrape the used mortarfrom the four side and edge faces of the brick, and,

since the plunger strikes one end of the brick with a substantial force,and likewise knocks each successive brick against its immediatelysucceeding brick, the mortar will likewise be properly dislodged fromthe two opposed brick ends. Upon emerging from the blade assembly 16,the bricks are caused to fall into a chute 17, from which they aredelivered to a discharge turntable 18, from which they may be removed inany suitable manner. However, since the turntable 18, just as in thecase of the receiving turntable 12, has a substantial large supportingsurface, a large number of bricks may be deposited thereon withoutfalling to the ground or interfering with successive bricks coming fromthe machine.

Considering the operation of the apparatus in more detail, referenceshould first be had to the mechanism which actually takes the mortarfrom the sides of the brick, since irrespective of the delivery anddischarge means, this is an essential feature of the machine as itrepresents the primary job to be performed. This mechanism is best shownin Figures 3, 6 andi7 'of' thedrawings, and with reference thereto itwill be seen that the'bricks upon delivery from the conveyor 13 aredeposited upon a plurality of horizontally disposed transverse grids21'.By transverse, it is meant that the grids are normal to the length ofthe machine and likewise normal to the directionalplunger travel. Thesegrids support the brick on one of its sides, with the longitudinal axisof the brick generally aligned withthe longitudinal axis of the machine.Immediately forwardly, or to the left of the grid 21. as viewed in thedrawing, there is provided a plurality of scraper blades which serve toengage the upper and lower sides of the brick as well as the edgesthereof. As previously mentioned, the ends of the brick are cleaned byimpact,- that is, by having one end struck by the plunger 14 and theother end knocked against the end of aprior brick engaged by theplunger. Preferably, all of the scraper blades are carried on a headassembly 26, detachably secured to the forward end of'the. apparatus.This assembly includes a pair of side plates 27,.which are positionedagainst the opposed inner surfaces ofv a pair of stationary walls 28,constituting a portion of. the frame. A lower scraper mechanism, adaptedto engage the bottom side wall 29 of the brick, is' carried adjacent thelower end of plates 27, and is here shown as consisting of threeindividual scraper blades31. Each of the blades 31 is directed upwardlyand rearw'ardly at'an angle of about 45 degreesfrorn the vertical, andhas. a similarly formed scraping edge 32, so that the respective bladeedges lie in a substantially common horizontal' plane with. the fiatupper edges of grids 21. Blades 311extend transversely'between plates 27and are detachably, secured by bolts 33 to flat bars 34, the latterbeing weldedor similarly secured to plates. 36 extending-along plates27; Plates 36 at their forward and rear edges have oppositely disposedflanges 37 extending transversely of the apparatus which are seated onsimilar flanges 38 on the plates 27. A plurality of adjustment bolts 39are engaged in the respective flanges and are arranged to selectivelyraise or lower the flanges 37 and thereby adjustably position the blades31 carried thereby. Flange 37'has an upstanding end 41', which is boltedto a transverse wall 42; andthe. latter" is slotted asindicated: at43 in;Figure:6, so: as to permit the aforesaid raising'aud lowering of the 9lower. scraper mechanism. From the foregoing, it'will beappreciatedthatas the blades? become .worn, the bolts 39 may be turnedto raise thevblades until such time as the blade edges 32 are worn downto the bars 34. Then the remaining portions of theblad'es may be removedfrom the bars and a new set of. blades installed thereon. Blades 31 willeffectively remove all cement or mortar from the bottom face ofthebrick, since, as will'be presently explained,- the brick in-passingover the blades 31 is forced downwardly.

Now considering such downward pressure, the same is created by an upperscraper mechanism adapted to engage the top side wall46 of the brick;This mechanism includes a pair of parallel longitudinally extendingplates pivotally attached to plates-27 adjacent their forward lowercorners by'bolts'48. A cross bar 49 adjacent the rear end thereof isengaged by'c'ompr'ession springs 51, also engagement with a cross bar52', carried on plates 27 byan upper bar 53' and bolt 54. Bolts 56extend through bar 53 and engage the upper surface of bar 52, wherebyrotation of the bolts will rock plates 47 about theirpivots 48 andagainst the spring pressure. In this manner, the plates 47 may at alltimes be urged downwa'rdl'y-with a'selective resilient pressure. Plates47 carry pairof upper scraper blades 61, extending transverselytherebetween, and the blades are directed downwardlyand rearwardly at anangle of about 45' degrees from a vertical plane. Each blade isindividually longitudinally" adjust- 4. able by a screw mechanism. 62,whereby the horizontally disposed cutting edge 63 may be lowered uponblade wear.

The manner in which the bottom and top faces of the brick are engagedand scraped by the blades 32 and 61 has been explained and, aspreviously mentioned, the head assembly likewise carries a side scrapingmechanism adapted to engage the opposed side edges of the brick. Thismechanism includes a pair of parallel plates 66, pivotally mounted onplates 27 ,adjacent the rear end thereof and having at their forwardends rearwardly directed U-shaped extensions 67. A spring 68 isinterposed between the respective plates 27 and 66, and a bolt and locknut assembly 69 is utilized to effectively control the position ofplates 66. Plates 6'6e'ach carry a' plurality of side scraper blades 71,such blades each having a flat attaching portion 72 and an arcuatescraper portion 73, the latter extending inwardly and rearwardly. Therearmost blades are actually bolted'to bars 74 having their forward endsattached to plates 66" and their rearward ends adjustably positionedrelative to said plates by bolts and lock nuts 76. The forward bladesare in alignment with springs 68, and a manually engageable screwelement 77 may be utilized to'elfect'ively vary the resilient pressure.

With the foregoing construction in mind, it should be appreciated thatif a brick is forcibly urged forwardly thrbugh the headassembly, theblades 31, 61 and 71, which. are set apart a. distance to merelyaccommodate a. clean brick,.will shave or shear. any mortar or cementfrom the facesof. the brick, and in the event of an oversize. brick, theresilient mounting of the top andside blade assemblies: will'permit.its. passages through the head.

I Plunger 14- is utilized to move the brick through the head assemblyupon positioning of. the brick in longitudinal alignment withsuchassembly, such as the brick 81' illustrated in Figure 1. Such brick issupported on its bottom side on the grids 21 with its length alignedwith the plunger as well as the head. The plunger 14 includes alongitudinally extendingrod 82'having a hardened impact head 83 ofgenerally rectangular configuration to conform to the end wall of thebrick. The rod is supported in suitable bearings for longitudinalreciprocating movement. By referring to Figure 3, it will be understoodthat if the rod is moved to the left, that is, forwardly, thehead 83will strike the rear end of the brick onthe grids, forcing it past theblades, and upon return of? the rod to the: position shown, anotherbrick maybe operatively positioned on the grids.

Means are provided for imparting intermittent, reciprocating motion tovthe plunger rod. As herein illustrated, a power source, such as a motor86, is mounted adjacent the. rear end of the frame 87 of the apparatus.Such motor drives a sprocket 88 by a chain or belt 89, sprocket 88having a-small sprocket 91 secured thereto. A chain 92, driven bysprocket 91, engages a large sprocket'wheel 93,- disposed adjacent apair of plates 94. Wheel 93 is mounted on a transverse horizontal shaft96, journalled in bearings 97, carried on the plates 94. Secured toshaft 96 for rotation therewith is a pair of parallel spaced metal disks98 and extending between the disks in eccentrib r'elation to shaft 96 isa roller 99. This roller is adapted: to slidably engage a yoke member101 having a lower end portion 102 attached to frame 87 by a pivot pin'103,- a pair'of upstanding legs 104 and 106 defining a slot 107therebe'tween, and an upper end portion 108. The roller 99 is engagedslot 107, and by virtue of the ece'e'ritri'city thereof, the opposededges of the legs 104 and I06 will be sequentially engaged thereby, andconsequentlyeffe'ct afore and aft rocking of the yoke member about itspivot 103. The upper end portion 108 is pivmany attached by a pin 112 tothe rear end of a bifurcatedmein'b'ei 113, whose front end is pivotallyconnected by a pin 114'to the plunger mechanism,'suitable guides beingutilized to merely permit the plunger rod 82 to move along alongitudinal" path; It'is important to note that the width of skit-107'is substantially greater than the diameter of roller 99. In this manner,the plunger will remain stationary at the ends of its stroke and permitthe insertion of a new brick onto the grids when the plunger moves toits rearmost position, as shown in the drawings.

In order to position the bricks for engagement by the plunger, theturntable is operatively connected to and 1 synchronized with plungertravel. The conveyor extends laterally from one side of the apparatusand includes a continuous belt 121 mounted on a plurality of rollers122, journalled inside frame members 123. The roller adjacent frame 87is power driven, whereby the upper reach of belt 121 is caused to movetowards the grids 21, and as such reach lies in substantially the samehorizontal plane as the grids, bricks deposited upon the belt will betransferred to the grids, a stop member 124 limiting movement of thebricks and properly positioning the same for engagement by the plunger.

The belt must be intermittently driven and move only when the-plunger isin itsrear position. This is accomplished by providing the driven roller122 with a bevel gear 131, engaging a bevel gear 132 carried on a shaft133, extending parallel to the conveyor. Shaft 133 is also provided witha ratchet wheel 134, engageable by a pawl 136, journalled on frame 123and pivotally connected to a link 137. This link is pivotally connectedto an eccentric pin 138, carried on a disk 139, mounted on shaft 96. Thepin 138 is so positioned that as the plunger returns to its rearwardposition the ratchet wheel is indexed, causing the belt 121 to moveforwardly and deposit a brick upon the grids. The gears 131 and 132 areso designed that each indexing of the ratchet will advance the beltapproximately ten inches. This is to permit the bricks, during theirtravel on the belt, to come into immediate adjacent relationship, andinsure the entry of the brick to be cleaned against the stop member 124and in position to be engaged by the plunger.

Bricks may be delivered to conveyor 13 from the turntable 12, and uponcleaving thereof by the blades in the head assembly are discharged fromthe chute 17 onto the similar turntable 18. Both turntables are ofsimilar construction and include a flat table 146, mounted for rotationabout a vertical axis upon a gear box 147. Practice has indicated thatby rotating the tables at about five revolutions per minute, optimumoperating conditions may be obtained. Accordingly, means are provided toeffect such rotation, and for economy and convenience, the motive powermay be taken from the main plunger shaft 96. As herein illustrated, oneend of shaft 96 carries a sprocket 151, connected by a chain 152 to asprocket 153 mounted on a transversely extending shaft 154. This shaftis operatively connected to a gear reduction unit 155, from whichuniversally connected drive links 156 are attached to the gear boxes onthe respective tables. By disconnecting the universal connection 157which attaches the link to the table, either of the tables may bemanually rotated to a desired position as the need arises.

Considering the overall operation of the apparatus, the used bricks tobe cleaned may be indiscriminately deposited upon turntable 12 in anysuitable manner. An operator may then manually urge the bricks from thetable onto the conveyor belt 121, with a face of the brick resting onthe belt and with the brick extending generally transverse to the belt.It is not necessary to accurately align each brick, since the excessiveamount of intermittent belt travel will properly orient the bricksbefore being discharged from the belt. When plunger 14 is in itsrearward position, as shown in the drawings, belt 121 is advancedthrough the action of gears 131 and 132 and the ratchet and pawlmechanism until a brick 81 is positioned against the stop member inalignment with the plunger head. The plunger is caused to remainstationary during suchbelt advance, since the width of slot 107 111 theyoke 101 is much greater than the diameter of the roller 99 carried onthe disks 88. Upon further rotation of the disks, the roller will engagethe yoke leg 104, resulting in a forward movement of the plungerandcausing the brick to enter the head assembly and be engaged by theblades 31, 51 and 71, such blades shearing the mortar or cement from allfour faces of the brick. With respect to the ends of the brick, theforeign matter is removed by impact. By referring to Figure 3 of thedrawings, it will be noted that the length of the brick is less than thelength of the head assembly. Consequently, if only a single brickentered the head, it would remain between the blades until the nextsucceeding brick forced it through. Thus, the rear end of the brick issubjected .to two impact blows, first upon engagement by the plungerhead, and second, upon being struck by the forward end of the nextsucceeding brick. The forward end is subject to the one impact uponbeing forced against the prior brick within the head assembly.

Upon discharge of the brick from the scraper head, it will slide downchute 17 onto table 18, from which the bricks may be palletized orotherwise removed and stored.

The entire apparatus is constructed in a rugged manner with parts suchas the blades and plunger head formed of hardened material. Once theblades are properly positioned, the machine is capable of cleaning inthe neighborhood of 20,000 bricks per working day, with the cleanedbricks being square and capable of being stacked and available forimmediate reuse in new construction.

What is claimed is:

1. Brick cleaning apparatus comprising a longitudinally extending frame,a transversely disposed brick supporting grid on said frame, a plungerextending longitudinally of said frame and having a brick engaging headat the forward end thereof, a motor, a fly wheel driven by said motorand having an eccentric element carried thereby, a yoke pivotallycarried on said frame with the legs thereof positioned on opposite sidesof said eccentric element and with the spacing therebetween insubstantial excess over the diameter of said element, means operativelyconnecting said yoke to said plunger for horizontal reciprocation of theplunger upon fly wheel rotation, and a plurality of scraper bladesdisposed forwardly of said grid including vertically spaced upper andlower blades and laterally spaced side blades, said blades being adaptedto scrape foreign matter from a brick as the latter is pushed forwardlyby said plunger, said blades being adapted to support a brick until suchbrick is forced therethrough by a subsequent brick being engaged bymovement of said plunger.

2. Brick cleaning apparatus including a longitudinally extendingplunger, means reciprocating said plunger along the length thereof,horizontal brick supporting means disposed forwardly of and in alignmentwith said plunger, a transversely extending blade connecting memberpositioned forwardly of and lower than said supporting means, a lowerblade releasably attached to said connecting member, an upper bladeconnecting element, an upper blade releasably attached to said element,said upper blade being directed rearwardly and downwardly and said lowerblade being directed rearwardly and upwardly each at an angle of about45 degrees, a pair of laterally spaced side blades, and means forselectively varying the spacing between said side blades and the spacingbetween said upper and lower blades, the forward position of saidplunger terminating rearwardly of said blades whereby a brick engaged bysaid plunger forces the next preceding brick through said blades.

3. Brick cleaning apparatus including a longitudinally extendingplunger, means reciprocating said plunger along the length thereof,means adapted to support a brick in alignment with said plunger and asubsequent brick spaced from said plunger, a transversely extendinglower blade in substantial alignment with said brick supporting means, atransversely extending upper blade ver tically spaced from said lowerblade, a pair of spaced side blades, said blades being positioned toengage four sides of a brick upon movement of said plunger over saidsupporting means to force a brick therebetween, a

upon forward reciprocation of said plunger whereby a.=-

brick" carried on said conveyor maybe deposited upon said bricksupportingmeans for moving thenext preced-- ing brick into position forengagement by said plunger. '4'.- Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 inwhich said conve'yor-is advanced a distance in substantial excess of thebrick width during" eachreciprocation of saidplunger.

5". Brick cleaning apparatus comprising a longitudinally extending--frame, a plunger mounted for horizontal reciprocation on said frame,drive means for reciprocating said plunger, a head: assembly detachablysecured to a forward end portion-of said frame, said head assemblycomprising a pair of spaced parallel plates having an upper scraperblade extending transversely therebetween and a: subjace'nt lowerscraper blade, a pair of opposed side. scraper blades carried on saidplates, said frame including a grid positioned between said plunger andsaid headassembly and extending generally transversely of said frame, aconveyor extending laterally from a side of said frame, said conveyorbeing adapted to deposit bricks on said grid for engagement by saidplunger, means operatively connected to said drive means forintermittently advancing said conveyor. upon rearward movement of saidplunger, said grid having a transverse extent sub- E stantially greaterthan! the widthof a brick. to be'cleanedi whereby a brick depositeitomsaid grid will engage and: slide the preceding brick: into: plungerintercepting. posiw tiom 6. A brick cleaning machine comprising alongitudinally extending: frame, a head. assembly disposed adjacent anend of said frame and having a plurality of blades adapted: to engagethe four: opposed: wallsof. a. brick upon.longi:- tudinalr movementthereofthrough said frame, alongi tudinallyreciprocating plunger adaptedto engage an end of a brick and moving: the same past. saidblades,.a'trans-- versely extending conveyor for delivering. bricks tosaid frame, a grid for receiving bricks from said conveyor, ..said=plunger moving over: a: portion of said grid remote from said; conveyor,said grid having a portion spaced from said first portion for supportinga brick prior to: its movement into the path of plunger movement, andsaid headassembly supporting a. brickv forcedtherethrough by saidplunger until discharged therefrom by movement of asubsequent brick?intosaidi head assembly;

References Cited in the. file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,3"2,038 Harbison Feb. 24,. 1920 1,355,035 Collins et al Oct. 5,. 192017,554,582 Krupitzer Sept. 22, I925 1,563' 081 Funk Nov. 24', 19252.756.789 Entz: July 24, 1956

